Crap. She’s got a farmhouse style sink. And the tile used in her backsplash is just what I’ve been yearning for. And where the heck did she find a plate rack? Let’s not even talk about the retro mint green refrigerator.

Wait – are those wood countertops? I hate my tiled countertop.

She has an Aga. Do you know how much they cost? And how much I’d like one in my kitchen? Copper pots? My pots are from IKEA.

On the list of things we wanted in a house was a fireplace. Do you see one here?

No, you don’t. Just a chimney. Without the fireplace.

You know what’s coming. Let’s visit Caroline’s living room:

Complete with birch logs, ready to burn. And shelves. And a mantel to decorate.

And the bathroom? I’m not even going to go there.

Listen. I like Caroline. She’s a nice person. However, it seems to me that there is a sort of ‘flaunting’ going on here. Here we are in our cottage; sans farmhouse sink, sans vintage stove or Aga, with no fireplace, and a studio space for yours truly that is in the hall, for heaven’s sake, and there’s Caroline, ensconced in her perfect house which is smack dab in the middle of our living room. Right there. I cannot avoid seeing it. I cannot pretend to be unaware of Caroline’s activities. I hear her laughing and humming little tunes, singing in the shower. I see her go into her studio/office and shut the door for privacy. I see her reading by the fire.

Comments

Maybe Caroline inherited her house, fully furnished. Maybe she’s Amish and the house is now hers, seeing her parents’ Dowdy House is finished and they have now moved there. Although humming loud enough for you to hear really does smack as sassy!
Aga stoves….ah, what a dream I have had of owning one of those. I fell in love with them after I watched Two Fat Ladies for the first time. For a long time I had pictures of Aga stoves in my kitchen, then I decided I was just tormenting myself and took them down! Ah, to dream :)
I watch Mr. Robot last night. Wow, that is going to be an excellent series. I couldn’t figure out where I had seen the main character before. Night At The Museum! He played Ahkmanrah. He is going to be brilliant in this. I am so excited to see Don in it.
I hope you, Don and Dame Scout have a wonderful day.
Hugs,
Deb

“…heaven’s sake, and there’s Caroline, ensconced in her perfect house which is smack dab in the middle of our living room. Right there. I cannot avoid seeing it. I cannot pretend to be unaware of Caroline’s activities. I hear her laughing and humming little tunes, singing in the shower. I see her go into her studio/office and shut the door for privacy. I see her reading by the fire.”

Charming, Claudia! Somehow I flash back to college in the ’70s, when after some “herbal refreshments,” someone might comment along the lines of: “And what if your house were in the middle of someone else’s living room, and then that house…?!”

Too funny!
I do really like my loft with its crazy-high ceilings and many windows, but I must have “cottage envy” as I would move into either cottage in a heartbeat. Oddly enough, my dollhouse is a replica of an English cottage I lived in growing up.

Entertaining post, Claudia, LOL! Just think, you have the best of both worlds, all under one big roof. You can enjoy all the desired amenities by living vicariously through Caroline, and without the expense of purchasing these expensive things yourself. Your house is absolutely cozy and inviting and charming just the way it is.

Claudia! Just be thankful that you don’t live with Tessie! She owns at least half of my mini collection! She has a townhouse, tea shop, hat shop, half of the Weaver’s Workshop, a fortune teller’s shop, part of the Witches Warehouse, and is now waiting for me to finish a Forest Fantasy Cottage for her.

Just wait until Caroline reads this…. Maybe she could start a mini book shop… That would keep her busy.

Don’t be mad at Caroline. I think she might be copying your style. Imitation is a form of flattery, you know. I also noticed from looking at the potting soil bags that you are organic. Caroline, not so much.

Oh, Claudia, what a cute post! It made me laugh out loud, but I must confess I share your envy over Caroline’s Aga stove! I’ve dreamed of having one for years, but doubt that dream will ever come to pass. And fireplace or not, I think you and Don’s home is soooo charming–every little touch has been thought out carefully and has meaning for the both of you. It doesn’t get much better than that. Have a lovely day–and hopefully Caroline will go out for tea this afternoon so you can have some quiet! :-)

So cute! I just obtained a red Aga for one of my dollhouses. I’m planning to turn it into a real English cottage with beams on the ceiling, tea pots, Wellingtons, a Welsh dresser , etc and hopefully a thatched roof! Love your dollhouse posts, Claudia.

LOL….great post! You mentioned a lot of things…but the farmhouse sink and the AGA stove are right up there. Wasn’t there an AGA stove in Mr. Blanding’s Builds his Dream House? If not…there should’ve been one! ;)

Alas, everything you wrote about your house, and Caroline’s, is true. But you have two things Caroline will never have – Don and Scoutie. Nuff said, huh? Have a wonderful day and enjoy all picture-postcard glorious June weather!

Hello my hilarious friend! This makes you want to give Caroline just the tiniest slap, doesn’t it? You know, when she gives that little silvery laugh and turns so her floral dress swirls just a tad around her perfect legs and she waves toodle-ooo darling. But then again, she doesn’t have Don and Scout. Poor girl. :) And yes, please, a book about her adventures would be greatly appreciated! Linda

LOL! The lady doth protest too much! As Linda commented, does Caroline have a Don? Does Caroline have a Scout? Does Caroline have blooming peonies? This was by far one of your best posts, Claudia! Immensely entertaining, and I love seeing photos of your cottage (can I have it when you oust Caroline and move into her house?!) and Caroline’s.

Loved Sylvia’s comment,,,,, I was sort of thinking that same thing! And Donnamae ~ I often think of Mr. Blanding’s wonderful house when visiting Claudia, too!
I do have to say that you are much more creative when you use your studio. Even though it is smaller than Caroline’s. I’ve never seen any quilts or fun newly created friends emerge from hers. And I would love to see her gardens, because I cannot imagine hers are any more beautiful than are yours, even though you have a little make-do bench.
So…. it is all what we make of the things we have ~ no matter how limited we believe them to be. :-) Lesson learned today, dear friend…. thanks!!

Oh. My. Goodness. I laughed myself silly as I read this post out loud to my daughter as we sit in her brand spanking new just built home. We both thought it quite entertaining. She loves her new home. I would love to have your cottage or Caroline’s home. They both have lots of character. She does seem rather cheeky though to be humming as she knows you’re right there to hear her.
Blessings,
Betsy

This charming post (and yes I’m still smiling) was just what I needed this afternoon. Longish day and I’m tired, but this just perked me up. I’ll tell you a little secret, I’m jealous of Caroline also! :)
hugs,
Linda

Hello Claudia!!!
I was curious about the chimney in your living room. Did someone brick it closed? The hardest/most expensive part is the building of the chimney…..perhaps, a brick-layer person (old school type) could open it up!!! It would be a little bit of an expense but the add in charm and coziness would out way that. I think you would LOVE it…..for sure. We, many years ago, had one opened up and it was the best redo we ever did!!! It also aids in the selling of the house later on. Since you have the chimney….it is not that hard of a project……
Don’t let Caroline have everything!!!!
Addie

I think there was a pot bellied stove kind of thing in here many years ago. You can see where the pipe went into the chimney. We don’t have very much room in the living room, so adding anything would be dicey. Plus the chimney needs repairing – both on the roof and in the basement.

oh my gosh!!! I cant believe this. Before I opened your blog, I was thinking of a way to hint to you about how much I miss the dollhouse posts. Also to ask if her rooftop area was being worked on. I was SO happy to see your post!!!!! You made my day. There is something so warm and inviting about Caroline’s home. It takes me to another place. Does that sound strange? I hope not.
Have a great day Claudia.

You too, Sue! I haven’t done many dollhouse posts simply because I haven’t worked on it in a while. When the rooftop garden is done, I’ll share it with you – I’ll probably start in on it when I get back from Chautauqua.

My daughter, Caroline (23), has REFUSED to look at your dollhouse blogging because of jealousy. Finally, over Memorial Day weekend, we found a gigantic Victorian doll house with electricity. So big that it fits in her Jeep Liberty only with the seats down. Now she can look, dream and craft and probably still be jealous of your Caroline’s house?

She is amazing at crafting miniatures with Sculpey. I cannot wait to see what she does with the place. I’ll let you know if she ventures into mini Mccoy!

Isn’t that the way it is: Our fantasy life vs. the real life. Actually, I beleive that your cottage is every bit as warm, comfy, and charming as Carolyn’s. Yes, yes. She does have the cool stuff and shame on her for flauting it. You could move her to another part of the house. I am working on the bathroom for the blue farmhouse, so I’m going to check out Carolyn’s. The woman’ got sytle.

Ah, Claudia, you gave me a chuckle at the end of a long, crummy day I had today. And your dollhouse never ceases to amaze me; I love it so much and could look at photos of it for hours. Caroline is lucky to live there!

If there were ever two lovebirds who needed a fireplace, it’s you and Don.

In my former home (modest 2-bedroom cottage from the early 1920s), I had the most magnificent, large fireplace with a huge, raised, stone hearth and gorgeous wood mantle…the fireplace was the signature piece to a quite-big (for a small house!) living room with 14-ft ceilings and it had a decorative, sort of hammered metal thing which covered the ancient screen pulleys…and we couldn’t use this fireplace at all as it was unsafe and needed to be completely overhauled as is so often the way of well-used fireplaces in old houses, besides which our chimney was about to fall down and had to be shortened for safety, then capped.

When you speak of a hint of bitterness even in jest, I have felt somewhat bitter that I had to leave this former house I’m speaking of, which we’d lovingly renovated, but I needed to move into a smaller, less-costly home for our retirement future and this particular old house needed a lot more, expensive work, too much for our bare pocketbook. I hear a lot about the people who bought this little bungalow from us, though. They’re wealthy. They needed to be! They’ve done work to the house we never would have done (and could no longer afford…it was really nickle & dime-ing us after a point). I don’t necessarily agree with everything they’re doing…I feel they’ve altered its footprint too much, although neighbors tell me they’re keeping it ‘vintage’…but I can happily expect their plans will definitely include a rehab/restoration of that grand fireplace, which takes up nearly the entire east wall of the living area. All as should be…because a fireplace is there for a reason, to be used, cozied-up to…warming our toes and our hearts.

There ARE stand-alone fireplaces you can purchase. Portable, free-standing. Electric or some kind of fuel. They can even evoke the sounds of crackling flames/wood logs and give off heat and ‘firelight.’ My aunt had one in the 1960s which was noisy and clunky but, of course, in years since, they’ve been improved. Home Depot, Lowes…I think they run $200 to $500 or something like that. Not the same as the real deal, of course. And you have to have the space for them, although I’ve seen a corner unit which wasn’t too big. I had looked at these because I’ve developed an allergic reaction to woodsmoke and wondered about alternatives, since the house we’re in right now ALSO does not have a working fireplace. If the damper wasn’t broken on it, allowing too much cold air in, I could at least put inside the fireplace (where you’d normally have a grate and logs) this nice, low-slung iron candelabra thing I got at Pottery Barn…spent ‘way too much money on it about a hundred years ago…which can burn eight or ten round-fat, smokeless and unscented, long-burning candles. If you can’t have firelight, try candlelight. I felt like the flickering candles were a ‘junior’ version of logs burning in a fireplace.

I have some fond memories of growing up in a family who regularly had a fire in the fireplace in winter (back in the day when SoCal would actually have its four subtle seasons, unlike now when all we have is endless summer and drought, with the other three seasons out the window). The dogs would love it, sprawled out on the rug in front of the fire; then they’d start panting and have to move to a cooler spot.

You know, I didn’t grow up with a fireplace. My grandmother always had one, but we didn’t. I’ve only lived in one house with a fireplace and that was our Craftsman in San Diego. Beautiful, but non-working. Maybe someday….

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband and dog. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating. My decorating style is eclectic but if I had to call it anything, I'd call it Christmas in Connecticut, after all those forties movies with comfy cottage style.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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